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A competitive auction of 164 oil and gas leases on federal land in late March resulted in bids on 113 parcels that will bring $729,250 to federal and state authorities. The auction, conducted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), included parcels in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Illinois. Bonus bids, filing fees and rental revenue amounting to $520,724 will go to the U.S. Treasury, and $208,525 will be shared with the affected states. Eight of nine parcels were leased in Alabama; 42 of 52 in Arkansas; six of six in Louisiana; 56 of 96 in Mississippi; and one parcel was offered and leased in Illinois. The BLM has responsibility for leasing the federally owned minerals located in the 31 states east of and adjoining the Mississippi River and offers selected parcels at quarterly competitive auctions. Regulations require the bidding to open at $2 per acre. J. Bradley Jeffreys from San Diego, CA paid $36,646 for an 80-acre parcel in the DeSoto National Forest in Mississippi. His bid of $450 per acre was the highest per-acre bid of the auction. Leases are awarded for a 10-year term, and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. The federal government receives a royalty of 12.5% of the value of production. Also, each state government receives a 25% minimum share of the bonus bid and the royalty revenue from each lease issued in that state. The next competitive oil and gas lease sale is scheduled for June 20, 2002. Visit the web site at www.es.blm.gov for more information about the lease sales.

Xcel Energy’s board has signed off on plans to commence an exchange offer under which Xcel Energy would acquire all of the outstanding publicly held shares of its subsidiary, NRG Energy Inc. Xcel Energy already owns 74% of NRG. More broadly, Xcel Energy laid out an ambitious plan for NRG this year, including the unloading of approximately $1.9 billion of existing assets, most of which are based in the international arena.

Faced with prices that are expected to fall lower than $2/Mcf, producers could begin curtailing production soon and that would further ensure the return of sharply higher prices next winter, given the current drilling decline, according to panelists at Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek 2002. Supply restrictions during a hot summer would quickly change the storage situation, the panelists said.

Faced with prices that are expected to fall lower than $2/Mcf, producers could begin curtailing production soon and that would further ensure the return of sharply higher prices next winter, given the current drilling decline, according to panelists at Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek 2002. Supply restrictions during a hot summer would quickly change the storage situation, the panelists said.

SCANA Corp. subsidiary SCG Pipeline Inc. filed an application with FERC to build an 18-mile gas pipeline in Georgia and South Carolina that would connect Southern LNG’s Elba Island liquefied natural gas import terminal near Savannah, GA, to a proposed power plant that would be built by SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas.

As Senate Republicans look for ways to bring the issue of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling up for a vote, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) issued a letter-report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) that finds that any attempt to drill in the national wildlife refuge system for reasons other than drainage would fly in the face of a 35-year-old policy prohibiting such activity.

It’s too soon to tell whether Dynegy Corp.’s proposed merger with Enron Corp. will be approved by federal regulators, but the most critical problem may not be how big the two companies’ trading power will be, but how much Enron’s shrinks over the next few months, noted analysts on Thursday. If Enron regains and retains the number one position it held just weeks ago, federal approval may be questionable; if Enron’s market share is diluted, the merger may stand a better chance of succeeding.

As Senate Republicans look for ways to bring the issue of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling up for a vote, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) has issued a letter-report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) that finds that any attempt to drill in the national wildlife refuge system for reasons other than drainage would fly in the face of a 35-year-old policy prohibiting such activity.

In contrast to forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Salomon Smith Barney of a colder-than-normal winter in key energy consuming regions, WSI Corp.’s end-of-October update to its seasonal forecast for November, December and January predicts warmer-than-normal temperatures in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and in the central and southern Plains. WSI, however, said it expects cooler-than-normal temperatures in the Gulf Coast states, Northern Plains, Great Lakes states, and all areas west of the Rocky Mountains.